Skift Acquires Gadling Travel from AOL

The Skift team — now the Gadling team, too — in Iceland this May.

The Skift team — now the Gadling team, too — in Iceland this May.

It’s been quiet here for a while, but that’s about to change. I’m happy to announce that Gadling is becoming part of the Skift family.

You may have read about us in this Gadling interview when we launched nearly two years ago. Since then, Skift has become the largest travel industry news and information site in the world. Over the short two years of our existence, our brand has become the lingo in travel.

As AOL has decided to focus on MapQuest as the center of its travel strategy, it wanted to find a good home for Gadling.

That’s us.

Additionally, we’re excited to announce a partnership with MapQuest, leveraging their global mapping platform and collaborating on relevant content. MapQuest serves 40 …

Top 5 Family Travel Destinations for 2014 (and Possibly Beyond)

Winter break just wrapped up–so it’s time to think about what to do when the kids are out of school this summer. Here, the “Wall Street Journal” and Lonely Planet share their top five family travel destinations for 2014. Can’t get to these places this year? Don’t worry, most of them are likely to still be around in 2015.

If You’re Not Already Convinced the U.S. Needs to Upgrade Its Travel Infrastructure, this Video Should Convince You

The U.S. Travel Association released a video this week called “What Could Travel in America Look Like?”, complete with Michael Bay-style, slo-mo American flag waving and music from that part of the movie where the hero is at his most dejected.

It’s a bit over-the-top in parts, but the argument put forth by travel industry heavy hitters is spot on. About our transportation options to-and-from airports, Jonathan Tisch, Chairman of Loews Hotels and Resorts, says, “We as a nation are sadly not competitive.”

Check out the video below.

Airbnb Is Having a Media Moment

Airbnb has been around for more than five years, but this week the media has been booking stories left and right about the “trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world.”

Monday, the New York Times looked at the legality of Airbnb in New York City. The article’s title, “The Airbnb Economy in New York: Lucrative but Often Illegal,” neatly sums up the situation (as good headers often do): many New Yorkers are earning needed income from Airbnb, but in doing so are depriving the state of needed tax revenue.BlackBook Magazine’s Harom Lea, who “loves all that is Airbnb,” nevertheless shares a few horror stories: like that of two women in Stockholm whose renters turned their home into a pop-up brothel.

If you can get past the possibility of your bathroom being converted into a meth lab though (another true story), there’s money to be made,as the business press points out.

Forbes’s delves into how owners of a second home can use Airbnb to profit from it. Likewise, in “Secrets of Running a Six-Figure Airbnb,” Fast Company explains how homeowners can earn extra income by putting up travelers.

Executive summary: to make money from Airbnb, it helps to own multiple properties.

Used Airbnb to either rent your home or book a room? Share your experience in the comments.